Senate to grill GM's Barra, also switch maker's CEO

General Motors CEO Mary Barra will be back before a U.S. Senate subcommittee next week answering questions about the company's widespread recall, but this time investigators will also hear from the supplier who made the defective switches linked to 13 deaths.

The Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance announced its invited witnesses for next Thursday's hearing and it included, for the first time in four congressional hearings, Rodney O'Neal, CEO of Delphi Automotive, based in Troy, Mich.

So far, Delphi officials have been publicly silent on questions associated with the defective switches, even though there are indications GM accepted switches which did not meet its own specifications when first producing the Saturn Ion, one model in the 2.6-million vehicle recall.

Delphi confirmed that O'Neal would appear at the hearing, which is entitled "Examining Accountability and Corporate Culture in the Wake of the GM Recalls" and is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on July 17.

Also invited are former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas, whose firm conducted an independent investigation commissioned by GM into the warning signs missed by the company leading to the recall, and Ken Feinberg, who GM retained to administer a compensation fund for people injured or who had family members killed in recalled vehicles.

Although GM's list of recalls has swelled to nearly 30 million vehicles this year, the congressional hearing largely centers on the defective switches placed in 2.6 million Saturn Ions and Skys, Chevrolet Cobalts and HHRs and Pontiac G5s and Solstices.

There is a lengthy record indicating that some at GM knew the switches could be jostled out of run position, though it was only last year when they pieced together clues showing that could disable air bags from deploying and cut off power to other systems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already hit GM with a $35 million fine for not turning over information soon enough that could have led to an earlier recall. The Department of Justice has been collecting material on the switches and there have been widespread reports that a criminal investigation is under way.

It is the second hearing for the Senate subcommittee into what occurred amid calls from some Democratic senators for tougher reporting requirements on automakers. The U.S. House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee has also had two hearings on the recall.

GM today confirmed that both Barra and Michael Millikin, GM's executive vice president and general counsel will appear before the Senate subcommittee next week.